


M-/S 



P4 ! Congress, ) SENATE. ( Document 

opy 1 ^ Session. \ \ No. 152. 



NATIONAL UNIVEKSITY PEOPOSITION. 




February 28, 1899, — Ordered to be printed. 



Mr. Cui.LOM preseuted the following 

MEMORIAL OF W. C. PENNWITT, OF GLENCARLYN, VA., RESPECT- 
FULLY OFFERING THE FOLLOWING SUGGESTIONS: 

1. THE EESTORATION TO NATIONAL JURISDICTION OP THAT PORTION OF THE 
DISTRICT OF COLITMBIA (10 MILES SQUARE) WHICH LIES SOUTH OF THE POTOMAC 
RIVER; 

2. THE FOUNDING- OF A CITY UPON SUCH REACQUIRED TERRITORY, TO BE DED- 
ICATED TO THE CAUSE OF LEARNING AND TO BE KNOWN AS THE CITY OF 
LINCOLN; AND 

3. THE ESTABLISHMENT WITHIN SUCH CITY OF A GREAT NATIONAL UNIVER- 
SITY, TO BE KNOWN AS THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON AND LINCOLN. 



To the Congress of the United States : 

Interest in the proposed establishment, under national auspices, of a 
great American university has been apparently growing of late and 
spreading in a manner that gives fair promise of tangible results at no 
distant day. Although opposition to the enterprise had been both 
active and obstinate, though a sjiirit of indifference had prevailed gen- 
erally throughout the country, yet until temporarily overshadowed by 
the " war question" the sentiment in favor of this measure bad become 
perceptibly stronger and decidedly more aggressive. Its friends were 
seemingly more numerous; without question they had become more 
hopeful and more determined than ever before. Preparations had 
been made for a vigorous campaign. New associations in aid of the 
movement bad been formed and the older organizations had become 
inspired with new courage. Many patriotic societies had taken com- 
mendatory action in the premises. Congresses of scientists, reunions 
of literary folk, teachers' institutes, and educational conventions every- 
where had openly given aid and comfort to the cause. The attitude of 
the press was, in the main, friendly and helpful. And last, though far 
from least, the patriotic ladies of the land had taken hold of the matter 
with an earnestness that presaged eventual success. 

In brief, soms real progress had been made, and the situation was, in 
a general way, highly encouraging to the promoters of the scheme, 
their coadjutors and well-wishers. Assuredly the hour was at hand 
when a forward movement all along the line might have been safely 
inaugurated and successfully executed. And now that " grim-visaged 
war hath smoothed his wrinkled front," now that "dove-eyed peace" 
has resumed her wonted sway over the whole of our fair land, the con- 
ditions so favorable to the prospects of the university project will most 
certainly present themselves afresh, reenforced by new conditions aris- 
ing out of our changed relations with the world at large^ Thus we may 



sr-- L d n 4- 

2 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY PROPOSITION. ,'p ^ 

expect the work to go on with greater zeal and with more confirmed 
purposes than heretofore. The movement is, beyond question, much 
stronger to-day than at any previous period in its history. 

It must be admitted, however, in candor that this pregnant situation 
rehites wholly and exclusively to the proposition in its barest outline, 
and absolutely without reference to any particular or specific plan of 
operation or of organization. The enterprise appears to be metaphor- 
ically, if not literally, '-in the air." It has not begun to materialize. 
It is re[)resented by no building, by no stone dug from the quarry, by 
no stick of timber cut from the forest. oSTo doubt it has been wisely 
politic to refrain altogether from attempting to decide questions of 
detail until the broader and more catholic aspects of the general propo- 
sition had been carefully studied. However, the time has come for 
getting down to solid eaith. To maintain simply the present status is 
not now desirable, and if it were a thing to be desired it is no longer 
possible. That whicli has life can not be kept indefinitely in an 
embryonic or chrysalis state. When the proper time comes it must 
assume definite form, otherwise it must perish. It must either grow or 
decay. Where evolution stops there dissolution begins. In the mat- 
ter of the proposed university there must be either an advance or a 
retreat, either a victory or a surrender. 

The question which, above all others relating to the university move- 
ment, merits and demands innnediate and painstaking consideration, 
whicli dwarfs and obscures all others, and which must be settled defi- 
nitely and authoritatively before any other question may, with either 
propriety or advantage, be considered at all, is the question of the 
magnitude and scope of the proposed institution. What is to be its 
grade, its range, its sphere, its position relative to other universities 
of the highest r nk at home and abroad? 

At the annual meeting of the National Council of Education, held in 
Washington last summer, a committee, composed of some of the most 
eminent men of the educational profession in this country, was appointed 
to make a thorough investigation respe(;ting the national university 
scheme and to report upon the following questions: (1) Whether a 
university under national auspices should be established; and, if so, (2) 
what should be its scope and the form of its organization? To your 
memoralist it seems clear that the order of these interrogatories should 
be reversed, that the latter inquiry must be answered specifically 
before the former may be intelligently discussed at all. Whether the 
establishment of a national university be advisable depends wholly 
ui)on the character and scope of the proposed undertaking. If it is to 
be merely an addition of one to the number of the world's great institu- 
tions of learning, it should never be established at all. This university 
must be something more than now exists, or that is likely otherwise to 
be, else it has no excuse for coming into being at all. A higher excel- 
lence than is possible elsewhere, or under other circumstances, must be 
its sole raison d'etre. It must bear to other universities of the highest 
type, American and P^uropeau, the relation that those institutions bear 
to colleges and that colleges bear to high schools and academies. It 
must be, in the broadest and highest sense, a university of universities. 

The University of Berlin, established less than ninety years ago, has, 
it is unanimously conceded, already attained higher rank than any 
other educational institution of the present or any past age. A recent 
very able paper on "The urgent need of a national university," from the 
pen of President David Starr Jordan, of Leland Stanford Junior Uni- 
versity, begins with the broad and striking assertion that " the most 



NATIONAL UNIVERSITY PROPOSITION. 3 

•^ important event in the history of modern Germany has been the foun- 
^ dation of the University of Berlin." This is a bold statement, but no 
^^ one has thus far been bold enough to challenge it. To rival that great 
"i^ institution would be indeed a most noble aspiration; yet I dare assert 
that if the promoters of the University of the United States have not 
an ideal vastly higher than even Beiliu, then have they failed utterly 
to comprehend the true field and mission of that institution that shall 
be worthy to bear the stamp and title of the great nation that Wash- 
ington founded and Lincoln made eternal. 

The world does not now and never- did contain a model for a univer- 
sity representing the principles that underlie government of, for, and by 
the people. The distinctive basic principle that supports the entire 
fabric of free government in our beloved llepublic is that upon which 
should rest also the foundations of our national university. The 
American concept of the " greatness of man," the more than kingliness 
of the individual citizen, should permeate the entire structure of our 
greatest educational establishment more completely even than it has 
dominated our political institutions. In a recent lecture on " The prin- 
ciple of American citizenship," Eev. D. J. Stafford, of St. Patrick's 
Catholic Church, in Washington, gave eloquent expression to this idea 
in the following words: 

The foundation of this Government was man in his racial unity, in his dignity as 
man. Historians look in vain for any trail of such au ideal in the past. It is not in 
the philosophy of Plato; not in the legislation of Lycurgus; not in the oratory of 
Cicero, nor in the 23oetry of Virgil. Even Athens, from whom we get the word 
*' democracy," did not attain to this ideal. 

During the infancy of our now mighty nation circumstances con- 
spired to prevent action upon the university proposition, and it is an 
open question whether this long postponement of the realization of 
"Washington's dream" is a matter for condolemeut or for congratula- 
tion. Had the attempt been made to establish a national university 
while the new-born Ifepublic was weak and almost friendless, eyed 
askance by all other members of the family of nations, while the people 
were impoverished, inexperienced, and distrustful of their own capa- 
bilities, while self-government was itself a mere experiment, the results 
would, in all probability, have been thoroughly disappointing. But 
now that the period of robust youth has been reached, when the nation 
"rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race;" now that we have achieved 
distinction as the most enterx)rising, resourceful, and progressive people 
on earth; now that we have become powerful and have accumulated 
wealth that a century ago would have appeared fabulous, there can be 
no uncertainty whatever as to the outcome of the undertaking, pro- 
vided the foundations of our great university be laid sufficiently broad 
and deep. 

It is scarcely necessary to suggest that the vast enterprise now in 
contemplation should be so planned, ordered, and arranged that it will 
be capable of subserving the educational needs of the future, not merely 
to meet the requirements of the present hour. It should go without 
saying that we ought to build, if we build at all, not merely for our- 
selves and our children, but for generations yet unborn. And this is 
indeed saying a great deal. The educational necessities of the present 
are immense; those of even the immediate future are stupendous. Who 
is there bold enough to attempt to forecast the intellectual and educa- 
tional demands of a single future century? At the world's jiresent rate 
of develo])ment what will the twentieth century bring forth? Judging 
from the recent past and by the present — for these are the only bases 



4 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY PROPOSITION. 

for prediction — the most conservative promises of the future appear 
like the wildest dreams of a disordered brain. The intellectual advance 
made during the century now about to close equals that of many prior 
centuries, and the latter portion of the nineteenth century has been 
more prolific of great achievements than any previous period in the 
history of the human race. jS'o less eminent an authority than Glad- 
stone is credited with having said that "the last fifty years have pro- 
duced greater results than all previous time back to the creation." 

Despite the enchanting eti'ect jjroduced by distance we realize that 
we live in an era of unusual mental activity. The rate of human prog- 
ress has increased according to a geometrical series. The marvelous 
nervous energy, which is the peculiar characterit^tic of modern man, 
aided by the existing momentum, makes it certain that the human race 
is now entering upon an era of intellectual activity such as was never 
before possible. With every stei) upward man finds his horizon vastly 
enlarged. With every extension of the field of vision he becomes far- 
ther and keener sighted. The man of to day is better equipped than 
his ancestors, and has every advantage over the pioneers on the high- 
way of progress. He is, as never was the earlier man, absolute master 
of the situation. 

Between the censuses of 1800 and liJOO the population of the United 
States, exclusive of the territory recently acquired, will have increased 
from something upward of five millions to about seventy-five millions; 
that is to say, at least fourteen-fold. If, during the next hundred years, 
there should be an increase of but sevenfold (or half the previous rate), 
the number of inhabitants to be enumerated in the census of the year 
2000 will be not less than five hundred million souls. Indeed, the emi- 
nent authority just quoted, the "grand old man" of England, predicted 
that we would reach the 500,000,000 mark ten years before the close of 
the twentieth century, and he added: 

The United States has the natural base of the greatest continuous empire ever 
established by man. 

The i^er capita wealth of this country increased during the short 
period from 1850 to 1890 more than 200 per cent, and is at the present 
time considerably upward of $1,000. Should the increase be only 100 
per cent during the next century (100 per cent in one hundred years 
instead of 200 per cent in the previous forty-years period — only one-fifth 
of the former rate), so as to amount to $2,000 for each inhabitant, the 
aggregate wealth of the people of the United States at the close of the 
twentieth century will have reached the enormous and almost incon- 
ceivable sum of $1,000,000,000,000. 

The history of modern invention and scientific discovery, which is 
simply the account of man's increasing knowledge and control of the 
forces of nature, is truly a more wonderful story than any ancient fairy 
tale, but it is a serial of which only a few of the opening chapters have 
been yet written. The efficiency of human effort has been recently 
developed in a most marvelous fashion. In some branches of industry, 
it is said, one man's labor now produces results that a hundred years 
ago required the toil of a hundred men. Truly the skillful hand of the 
modern artisan, aided by the fertile brain of the modern investigator, 
has wrought greater wonders than were ever produced by the touch of 
the magician's wand. And the end is not yet. The door leading to 
nature's storehouse of wonders is only slightly ajar. Man is now 
timidly setting foot upon that mysterious threshold. Soon he will 
boldly enter and take possession. Nature's " stubborn secrets " will be 
remorselessly wrested from her by the all conquering master. To 



NATIONAL UNIVERSITY PROPOSITION. 5 

indulge in speculation concerning the inventions and scientific dis- 
coveries of the future would be idle folly, but there is one prediction 
that may be freely and safely made, this namely, that in every depart- 
ment of human knowledge, in every field of investigation, the twen- 
tieth century will surpass the nineteenth, even as the latter has excelled 
all previous periods of time. 

Thus far we have been confining our retrospect to the century just 
closing and our prospect to the century upon which we are about to 
enter. There is no reason, however, why we should limit the view in 
either direction to so short a period. All true Americans are unwaver- 
ing in their faith in the "manifest destiny" of our Eepublic, the first 
genuine republic upon which the sun ever shed its life-giving rays of 
light. As one man, we believe it to be the destiuy of our glorious 
nation to endure ''a thousand years." And while the Eepublic endures 
and leads the van of civilization the mission of our university will not 
come to its close. It has been said concerning the establishment of a 
national university that "by this meaus we shall create the best guarantee 
of the perpetuity of our Eepublic." With such a spirit and with such a 
faith as these words express animating the friends of this movement, 
no plan or suggestion can be entertained at all that does not contem- 
plate and insure the predominance of the proposed institution over all 
other educational establish ments throughout the entire world for many 
centuries to come. This university that we are about to establish must 
therefore contain within itself the power to constantly renew the vital- 
ity of its youth, in order that it may never become superannuated or 
effete. It must be invested with unlimited capacity for functional 
development in order that it may be able to meet all possible demands 
upon its resources. 

Without attempting to forecast human intellectual progress for so 
long a period as a thousand years, it may not be entirely unprofitable, 
in preparing for the future, to glance backward, even into the distant 
and obscure past. A thousand years backward takes us to the very 
midnight of the so-called "Dark Ages." It is a fact worthy of note, 
however, that about that time the turning point of human destiuy was 
reached. About that time the germs of the new civilization began to 
give evidence of vitality. It is also worthy of mention that the world 
appears to move in cycles of about five hundred years. It was not until 
some five centuries later — that is to say, some five hundred years ago — 
that those germs began to yield ripe fruit. Then there occurred one of 
the most notable crises in history, an epoch of such unusual significance 
that it became known as the "Eebirth" (la renaissance). That remark- 
able awakening, aptly described as "acomprehensivemovement of the 
European intellect and will toward self-emancipation," marks the begin- 
ning of an era of intellectual and moral activity such as was never 
before known among men, an activity that has never waxed faint, but 
has become more and more intense down to the present day. 

Among the many remarkable features of the period or cycle that 
has since elapsed, commonly known as " modern history," and consti- 
tuting the most memorable era in all history, may be mentioned such 
noteworthy events as the revival of learning, the Eeformation, the 
invention of the printing press, the discovery of the new world, the 
evolution of the steam engine, the American revolution, the ascendancy 
of the principles of self-government, and popular education, which last 
is the culminating fact of the period as a whole. And let it not be 
forgotten that popular education is wholly the product of the present 
century, not fully realized even in this country until within the present 



6 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY PROPOSITION. 

lialf-ceiitury. What more flttiDg- climax to this first cycle of modem 
civilization, what more fitting introduction to tlie coming or second 
cycle, than the founding' of a colossal institute of learning on the soil 
of the freest nation on earth, designed and destined to be at once an 
exhaustless repository of tbe erudition of the past and an overflowing 
wellspring of inspiration to truth seekers of the future ? The present is 
not the noonday, but simply the full sunrise (as the renaissance was the 
dawn) of man's intellectual career on this planet. "Our life," said 
Emerson, " is an apprenticeship to the truth that around every circle 
another circle may be drawn ; that there is no end in nature, but every 
end is a beginning; that there is always another dawn risen on mid- 
noon, and under every deep a lower deej) opens." 

The message of the past to us is truly "the voice of one crying in the 
wilderness," but it is the voice of a prophet telling us what may be 
expected of man as man in the future. If the events of the next 
ensuing five centuries shall, as they certainly will, surpass, or simply 
equal, those of the last five hundred years, how can it be possible to 
form a reasonable conception of the intellectual stature and educa- 
tional requirements of the human race at the close of that period? It 
is, then, clearly impossible to build the foundations of our national 
university too broad for future necessities. There is absolutely no 
risk of unnecessary comprehensiveness in the ground plan, but there is 
serious danger of falling into the opposite error. Let us, then, provide 
unlimited opportunities for development and expansion, in order that 
our great university may not fall short or be presently outgrown and 
inadequate to the needs of coming generations. It is impossible to 
erect a standard too high for future requirements. 

The characteristics of the American people should be taken into the 
account and treated as factors of great value in the problem the solu- 
tion of which we are about to attempt. The vastness of an uudtrtak- 
ing never appalls or discourages them; indeed, it usually has the 
contrary effect, quickening their energies and arousing within them a 
sublime enthusiasm that makes great difficulties appear trivial. The 
proverbial American pluck and persistency enable them to overcome 
obstacles that, to a less intrepid people, would seem insurmountable. 
If, therefore, there is to be a national university at all in this country, 
they will insist upon its being the most complete in all its appointments, 
the most thorougli in all its operations, the most efficient, the most pro- 
gressive, the greatest and most magnificent institution of learning on 
the face of the whole globe. Self-respecting, patriotic Americans are 
not pleased with the circumstance that their great country, of which 
they are so proud, should take inferior rank in a matter of such extreme 
importance as higher education. Our public school system has already 
raised the general educational level of the United States above that of 
any other nation. We are now in position to assume the same unchal- 
lengeable leadership upon the higher planes. 

Mulhall, the most eminent statistician of the present century (not 
himself an American, therefore free from bias in our favor), has said 
of us: 

If we take a survey of mankind in ancient and modern times, as regards tlie pliys- 
ical, mechanical, and uitellectnal force of nations, we find nothing to compare with 
the United States in this present year of 1895. The pliysical and mechanical power 
which has enahled a communitj' of woodcutters and farmers to hecome in less than 
one hundred years the greatest nation in the world, is the aggregate of the strong 
arms of men and women, aided by horse power, machinery, and steam power, 
applied to the useful arts and sciences of everyday life. 



NATIONAL UNR^'ERSITY PROPOSITtON. i 

A nation whose material developmeut and inventive genius have been 
the wonder, admiration, and envy of the whole world, is not likely to 
be long in attaining the foremost position in science, art, philosophy, 
or literature. Heretofore our energies have been expended mainly in 
securing ascendency over the rest of the world in inventions, manufac- 
tures, and commerce. We have been busy subduing the eartli and mas 
tering the physical forces of the universe. Now, like Alexander, we 
are looking about us for other worlds to conquer; but, unlike the famous 
Macedonian chieftain, we have little taste for conquest by force of arms. 
Our greatest victories, we hope, will be peaceful contests, that may 
prove even more beneficial to the vanquished than to ourselves. 

Our history has been in many respects unique. We have never in 
anything copied either the methods or the institutions of the Old 
World. When the American people shall set about to establish a. 
university designed to be national in its character, it will of necessity 
be a new creation; not simply another and greater Oxford, or Paris, 
or Harvard, or Berlin. Our undertakings hereafter, as heretofore, and 
more hereafter than heretofore, must be on a gigantic scale. There was 
a time when the people of Europe susi)ected and accused Americans 
of being boasters and braggarts. It is not now necessary to inquire 
whether there ever existed grounds for such an opinion of us, for there 
has evidently been some revision of their judgment. The following 
quotation is from an article that appeared in Der Frankfurter Zeitung 
of August 20, 1898. It should be borne in mind while reading this 
quotation that it is from one of the leading journals of that nation, 
which proudly boasts the greatest university that ever existed — that 
nation to which we are annually sending thousands of our young men 
and maidens to receive " finished educations." The article ran thus: 

With Tvhat force and energy the Union enters npon its rightful position among the 
controlling nations of the world will be shown by a glance at its material resources 
and productive capacity. [Here follows a formidable statistical array.] These 
figures, to which might be added others equally significant, will suffice to show that 
the people of the United States, in respect to their resources and capacity of per- 
formance, can no longer be compared with any other single nation ; the comparison 
must be made with the entire rest of the world. * * ** The American national 
character wins when compared with that of any other nation; and it must be 
remembered that in the frankness and intelligence of this national character, its 
tireless energy and its ardor ibr improvement, are given the conditions anil the 
strength which modify even the defects of the people and shield them from the 
dangers of degeneration. Labor, freedom, tolerance — these are the fonudalions upon 
which American manhood rests, and upon which it can securely rest in the future. 
* * * We are not concerned with the outward form, but with the substance— the 
independent, self-reliant citizenship, the respect for honest labor, the tolerance of 
free thought and action, the generous, unprejudiced humanity of thought, feeling, 
and deed. * « * For these reasons it can be fairly said that the victory of the 
United States is a triumph for progress and a gain for mankind. 

If there be any timid, nerveless American who doubts our ability to 
found and maintain a university vastly greater in every respect than 
Berlin, or any other institution of ancient or modern times, let him read 
these words over and over until he realizes that he needs more iron in 
his blood. He will do well to bear always in mind the words attributed 
to the present Chief Executive of our nation: "It is better to be a 
patriot than a pessimist." 

Only second, and scarcely second, in importance to the question of 
the magnitude and scope of the proi)Osed university is the question of 
its environment. Incongruous or inappropriate surroundings may not 
be in all cases fatal to the renown or usefulness of a great university^ 
but always the beneficial effects of wholesome influences and of a pure, 



8 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY PROPOSITION. 

bracing, intellectual, aud moral atmosphere are essential to its attain- 
ment of the highest possible efficiency. It is undoubtedly true that an 
institution such as is hereinafter described would exert an influence 
that would more than counterbalance the evils of even the most objec- 
tionable surroundings ; that it would be able, in a measure, to create 
its own atmosphere. Nevertheless, the full vigor of such an establish- 
ment should be conserved for legitimate educational employment. Its 
energies should not be dissipated in fighting pernicious influences that 
might be easily avoided. 

By many careful observers it has been held that proximity to any 
great city, ])articularly to a commercial or manufacturing city, is neces- 
sarily detrimental to the interests and operations of any educational 
institution. This view is doubtless correct in the cases of schools 
attended by pupils offender age and pliant character; but it is true to 
a less extent, if it be true at all, of institutions whose students are 
more mature in years and in judgment. Indeed, for proper university 
work extensive libraries, well-stocked museums, courts of justice of the 
highest authority, galleries of art, and the like, are indispensable; and 
these are to be found only in great cities. For all that, however, it 
would be a positive disadvantage, especially to an establishment of the 
very highest rank, to be overshadowed in its own immediate locality 
by other interests, however respectable they might be. In its own 
proper vicinage it should be, by all means, the predominating and 
sovereign influence. Within its legitimate sphere as a university it 
should be the paramount fact, giving its own hue and tone to every- 
thing and to every circumstance. The ideal arrangement would, there- 
fore, seem to be an educational metroitolis; that is to say, a university 
city, containing at least one high-class university and perhaps numerous 
colleges and prei)aratoTy scliools. The principal business of such a 
city should be educational work; there should be no comijeting inter- 
ests there. All else should be secondary and subservient to educational 
purposes. 

It was the opinion of Washington that "the Federal city * * * 
ought to be preferred as a proper site for such a university," and this 
suggestion has met with general approbation. The reciprocity of 
Government aud university interests, benefits, and duties is manifest. 
The political capital of the Republic and its educational metropolis 
ought always to be in (rlose touch and hearty cooperation. But the 
alliance should never degenerate into mere servility on the part of 
either. Each should, in its own proper field of o])erations, be thor- 
oughly independent; outside of that field it should be intenselj^ loyal. 
The university could not, of course, be permitted to usurp political 
functions. On the other hand, it should not be subjected to political 
caprice or partisan expediency. For instance, if the chief official of 
the university were, by virtue of his position, made a member of the 
President's Cabinet, as has been suggested, to be appointed by the 
Chief Executive aud removable at his pleasure, the efiect might be mis- 
chievous in the extreme, as well to the Government as to the university. 

In like manner, if the latter were dependent for its main pecuniary 
support upon annual appropriations made by Congress, the result 
would be disastrous to the university. aSTeither an individual nor an 
institution can avoid some degree of subserviency to the hand that 
supplies the essentials of his or its existence. In times of great politi- 
cal excitement, if the university were wholly dependent upon Con- 
gressional favor, there would be, at least, serious danger of its being 
forced or drawn into some sort of coalition with one party or the other. 



NATIONAL UNIVERSITY PROPOSITION. 9 

That would be a calamity indeed which should be made impossible. It 
were better that the establishment of our great university should be 
further delayed, even postponed indefinitely, aye, abandoned alto- 
gether, than that it should proceed without adequate provision against 
such misfortunes as these. 

During his incumbency of the Presidential office Washington set 
apart or " appropriated " from lauds deeded to the Government " for 
public uses " a certain tract of ground within the limits of the capital 
city, comprising somewhat more than 19 acres, "for the site of a 
national university," This tract, commonly known as " University 
Square," was until recently occupied by the United States Naval 
Observatory. Doubtless this little piece of land was, a hundred years 
ago, considered ample for the purposes of a university such as was then 
in contemplation. Now it is altogether inadequate to the purposes of 
a single branch of scientific investigation — astronomy. For such an 
institution as is hereinafter suggested it would be utterly insignificant. 
Possibly the circumstance that the plans heretofore presented have all 
contemplated the utilization of this piece of ground as the seat of the 
proposed university may in part explain the failure of the movement to 
command the necessary support. Even before the first brick is laid 
the institution suffers for lack of room. The location is not suggestive 
of comprehensiveness, of magnificence, of free and healthy develop- 
ment. It is suggestive of circumscribing boundaries, of limitations, of 
restraint. The selection of such a site for our national university 
would be, to say the very least, an irreparable blunder. 

It may not be amiss to note that the situation was formerly consid- 
ered unhealthy, and that many of the surroundings are decidedly 
objectionable. For instance, a brewery has been located on adjoining 
ground, occupying imposing buildings of many stories. 

The Constitution of the United States confers upon Congress cer- 
tain i)owers, among which is the power " to exercise exclusive legis- 
lation in all cases whatsoever over such district (not exceeding 10 
miles square) as may, by cession of particular States and the accept- 
ance of Congress, become the seat of the Government of the United 
States," etc. The State of Maryland by acts of December23, 1788, and 
December 19, 1789, and the Commonwealth of Virginia by an act of 
December 3, 1789, ceded to the United States, for the purposes set 
forth in the Constitution, certain territory, 10 miles square, lying on 
the Potomac River, about two-thirds of which was given by Maryland. 
Congress, by acts of July 16, 1790, and March 3, 1791, completed the 
transaction by formally assuming jurisdiction over the entire territory. 
President Washington, by proclamation of March 30, 1791, declared 
the said district, 10 miles square, to be "the permanent seat of the 
Government of the United States." This territory was afterwards 
by law designated "The District of Columbia." That portion taken 
from Maryland, and lying north of the Potomac River, became known 
as "Washington County." The portion taken from Virginia, lying 
south of the Potomac, was called "Alexandria County." 

President Washington, in a letter to Thomas Jefl'erson dated March 
15, 1795, again expressed for the site selected for the nation's capital 
" a preference over all other places for the institution " (meaning the 
national university), "for the following reasons: * * * Thirdly, 
because one-half (or near it) of the District of Columbia is within the 
Commonwealth of Virginia," his own native State and his home, as well 
as the source from which he received the stock which he afterwards 
bequeathed " toward the endowment of a university to be established 



10 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY PROPOSITION. 

in the District of Columbia iiuder the auspices of the General Govern- 
ment." 

Mention should here be made of a certain proceeding- which has an 
important bearing upon the subject-matter of this memorial. By an 
act of July 19, 1846, Congress attemi)ted to divest itself of jurisdiction 
over that portion of the District of Columbia lying south of the Poto- 
mac Eiver (Alexandria County) by relinquishing the same to the Com- 
monwealth of Virginia. Many eminent members of the legal profession 
have held that the so called retrocession act was in clear violation of 
the Constitution of the United States. The validity of the measure 
has never yet been decided by the Supreme Court of the United States, 
but it is by many confidently believed that in the event of an action 
being properly brought a decision would be very promptly rendered 
declaring the act void. An attemi)t was made to test the validity of 
the retrocession through an action brought by a taxpayer who sought 
to recover taxes collected from him by Virginia ofdcials (Phillips r. 
Payne, 92 U. S. lieports, 619), but the Supreme Court refused to con- 
sider the question of the constitutionality of the act of retrocession in 
an action brought by an individual, holding that the power to levy and 
collect taxes belonged to the de facto government, and that the ques- 
tion of the validity of the retrocession could not be raised except by 
one of the parties in interest; that is to say, either by the United States 
or by the State of Virginia. 

Up to this time nothing has occurred to make the possession of the 
jurisdiction over this territory especially desirable or of interest to 
the General Government. For more than h;df a century the State of 
Virginia has exercised as complete dominion over Alexandria County 
as over any other portion of its domain, and the question of the validity 
of the retrocession remains oi)en. There is, however, no probable 
necessity for a resort to litigation in regard to the matter in any event. 
If the United States shall ever have use for additional territory at the 
seat of Government the Commonwealth of Virginia stands ready and 
willing, as in 1791, to supply its wants. Senator Martin, of that State, 
in an interview imblished a year or two since uttered what is doubtless 
the prevailing sentiment among his constituents, as follows: 

If the Goveiument needs more territory, I have no doubt that Virginia will promptly 
respond to that need. * * * But an eH'ort to have Virginia cede laud to be added 
to the District of Columbia should be preceded by a showing of the Government's 
need for more territory. 

The purpose and aim of the so-called retrocession (never matters of 
any considerable significance) were long ago accomplished. The end 
then sought was entirely foreign to the subject now under considera- 
tion, and whether in itself good or bad is not here a matter of the slight- 
est consequence. However, that very proceeding, unconstitutional and 
invalid though it may have been, will probably yet produce results of 
incomparable importance to the Pepublic. The retrocession should be 
considered a fortunate accident. Had Alexandria County remained 
under national jurisdiction and control it would have shared in the 
remarkable development that has within the last quarter century come 
to the District of Columbia. Had it not been severed from the original 
District, the seat of Government, it would now contain a much larger 
population; it would be now well built up and improved by permanent 
and costly structures. Any reconstruction or remodeling that might 
be found desirable would under such circumstances necessarily prove 
difficult and expensive. The most noticeable result of the retrocession 



NATIONAL UNIVERSITY PROPOSITION. 11 

has beeu the exdusion of this section from the prosperity that has 
visited the nation's capital. 

As compared with Washington, the city of Alexandria has stood 
still. The same may be said of Alexandria County in comparison with 
Washington County. The backward condition of affairs on the south 
side of the Potomac as compared with affairs on the north bank becomes 
remarkable when it is shown that the health conditions existing in the 
former sections are in every way superior to those in the city of Wash- 
ington. The average elevation of the land on which Washington 
stands is perhaps 40 feet above mean tide, while the average elevation 
of Arlington and Washington districts in Alexandria County, lying 
directly opposite the capital city, iis nearly, if not altogther, 300 feet. 

In 1890 the population of Alexandria County, outside of the city of 
Alexandria, was 4,L'58. Since the last census there has been no unusual 
influx of population, and the inhabitants of this delightful suburban 
locality, exclusive of the military garrison at Fort Myer, do not probably 
number, at the present time, as many as 5,000. Although lyiug within 
gunshot distance of the Executive Mansion, the business office aud 
residence of the President of one of the most powerful and affluent 
nations on earth, this section boasts a population not exceeding 160 to 
the square mile. Although in immediate proximity to the capital city 
of the nation, it contains not a single village of 500 souls. Topographi- 
cally beautiful, with scarcely a rood of its surface unsuitable for build- 
ing purposes, a large proportion of its area being within plain view of 
the Capitol, the great Library building, the Monument, the White 
House, and other immense structures of granite and marble costing 
millions upon millions of dollars, there are to be found here scarcely 
two score buildings made of any substance more durable than wood. 

It is a fact of obvious significance that, for all the purposes of 
improvement of any kind whatsoever, under the conditions now exist- 
ing in Alexandria County, all the territory here described lying out- 
side of the city of Alexandria may be regarded as virgin soil on which 
substantially nothing has been built up that is too valuable to be torn 
down. Construction would not here necessitate precedent destruction. 
If it were necessary to raze to the ground every building of every 
description, and to destroy or remove everything of value from the 
entire section, all this would signify less, as a matter of expense, than 
the widening of a single street in ISTew York or Chicago, in London or 
Paris. The actual effect, therefore, of the attemiDted retrocession has 
been to set apart, or reserve, for university purposes, about one-third 
of the area of the District of Columbia. This result could have beeu 
accomplished so effectually by no other means. The nation should be 
thankful that the Twenty-ninth Congress was nearsighted. 

Alexandria County covers an area of about 34 square miles. Its 
political subdivisions are (1) Alexandria City, at the extreme southerly 
point; (2) Jefferson district, adjoining the city of Alexandria and lying 
partly, not wholly, on the low ground south of the southern end of 
Long Bridge; (3) Arlington district, directly opposite the city of Wash- 
ington, embracing the historical Arlington estate on which are located 
the great National Cemetery and the military post of Fori Meyer ; and 
(4) Washington district, which occupies the upper or northern section 
of the county. All of Arlington and Washington districts and a con- 
siderable part of Jefferson district are located on high and perfectly 
drained ground, the elevation varying from sea level to 425 feet above 
mean tide. Except a narrow strip along the river front, Arlington dis- 



12 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY PROPOSITION. 

trict lies on a plateau at an average elevation of 260 feet, or thereabouts. 
The site of the old Arlington mansion is about 200 feet above tide. 
The contour of Washington district is somewhat more broken, the 
average elevation being considerably greater. Steep bluffs rise abruptly 
from the river's edge. This district furnishes many remarkably line 
views of the city of Washington and of the surrounding country in all 
directions. 

The purpose of this memorial stands now so fully disclosed as to need 
but little further elaboration. The present status of the university 
movement is quite satisfactory, and the time seems to be ripe for effect- 
ive action. Your memorialist indulges a hope that the suggestions 
herein contained will prove timely and opportune. They are offered 
boldly and without apology, because of the entire absence of the ele- 
ment of selfishness in bis motives. He has no interest in the project 
that he does not share with all Americans who desire the ascendency 
of tlie principles of "triumphant democracy" throughout the whole 
world, and the development of the highest types of American manhood 
and womanhood. 

The several steps in the proceedings from this time forward seem to 
arrange themselves logically and naturally in the following order: 

First. Action should be taken at the earliest possible moment look- 
ing to the resumption by Congress of its constitutional iirerogative to 
exercise exclusive legislative power over that portion of the original 
District of Columbia (10 miles square) which lies south of the Potomac 
Ei ver. Three methods of attaining this object are at hand : ( 1 ) Through 
an act of cession from the Commonwealth of Virginia and acceptance 
by Congress, as in the lirst instance; (2) by a joiut resolution of Con- 
gress directing the Attorney General to institute proceedings in the 
United States Supreme Court asking to have the act of July 19, 1846, 
commonly known as the retrocession act, interpreted; and (3) by an 
act of Congress repealing the act of 1846 and providing for the resump- 
tion of Federal jurisdiction over the territory in question. The first- 
named method is to be preferred, mainly because thereby no antago- 
nisms would be engendered, and because, if found advisable, the city 
of Alexandria could thereby be allowed to remain a part of the State 
of Virginia. The parallel of 38''^ 50' 30" north latitude, or thereabouts, 
would mark a convenient and appropriate division line. The territory 
south of such a line would not be needed for the purposes herein con- 
templated. 

Second. Provision should be made for founding upon the reacquired 
territory a city, a companion to the capital city of the nation, to be 
the seat of a great national university, the educational metropolis of the 
great Republic, the home of learning, a Mecca, a Mount Olympus, for the 
scholars, the thinkers, the artists, the philosophers of the whole world. 
With our present knowledge of topographical, mechanical, architec- 
tural, and sanitary science, and with the boundless wealth of oppor- 
tunity afforded by this unrivaled location we may, if we will, have here 
the best equipped, the most healthful, the most symmetrical, the most 
beautiful, and attractive city ever built by man or ever conceived by 
the human mind; the model city of the planet we inhabit, in which 
utility and elegance shall each wait upon and exalt the other; the great 
court city of the only genuine aristocracy on earth — that of intellect 
and culture. 

Third. In the midst of this beautiful city our great university of 
universities should be located, "the crown and culmination of our 
American system of education," an establishment of higher rank, of 



NATIONAL UNIVERSITY PROPOSITION. 13 

wider range, of broader base, and of deeper integrity than any other 
institution of learning ever founded on earth. An eligible site, access- 
ible, convenient, incomparable from every point of view, will be found 
in the vicinity of Game's School House, on the highest point of ground 
in the county. Here the view of the city of Washington, with its 
many domes, and spires, and massive public buildings, is simply 
enchanting and grand beyond description. A considerable tract, amply 
sufficient for lecture hails, laboratories, conservatories, observatories, 
libraries, gymnasiums, and other structures essential to university work, 
and for such parks, drives, walks, etc., as may be found desirable in 
the environs of such an institution, is here available. The situation is 
admirably adapted to the needs of a great university, and its beauty 
must be seen to be appreciated. 

Subsidiary to these chief ends, and necessary to the complete success 
of the plan herein outlined, certain other measures should be adopted 
as follows: 

Fourth. Provision should be made by Congressional enactment for 
acquiring title to all the land within the limits of the proposed city, 
not already owned by the Government. The area embraced within the 
territory north of parallel 38° 50' 30" is about 30 square miles. The 
Arlington estate is now the property of the United States, and covers 
almost two square miles. It would be necessary, therefore, to acquire, by 
purchase or through condemnation proceedings, title to about 18,000 
acres of land. The aggregate cost of such acquisition would be some- 
what less than the amount of Washington's bequest to the university, 
including interest to the present time; or, if a somewhat hackneyed 
illustration may be pardoned, about ihe cost of one battle ship. After 
the most generous allotments (say 60 per cent of the whole) for streets, 
alleys, avenues, parks, and other public nses, there would remain more 
than 300,000,000 feet of ground available for residence purposes. 

The immediate efi'ect of the establishment of the university and the 
founding of the city would be an enormous increase in the value of 
this ground. Inasmuch as this enhancement of values would be caused 
wholly and directly by these institutions, the entire and immediate 
benefit thereof should inure to the university and the city. No other 
interest could sustain any claim, or shadow of claim, to a share therein. 
In all equity and good conscience the total of this increment of values 
should go unimpaired and unquestioned to the benefit of the institu- 
tions that created it. The market value of this ground would, in a 
very short while, equal the present value of Washington city property. 
And, for that matter, the time is not distant when the average value 
of ground in the great university city will be equal to the highest 
values of the most eligible residence locations in Washington at the 
present time. 

Fifth. The United States Government should, and of course will, 
retain the ownership of the entire Arlington estate. The military post 
at Fort Myer will be maintained and the National Cemetery will never 
be desecrated by being applied to any use less sacred than that of 
retaining the ashes of the nation's heroic dead. That portion of the 
reservation which lies between the cemetery and the Potomac River, 
about half of the entire tract (equal to 1 square mile), should be con- 
verted into a great national garden and agricultural experiment station, 
the value of which to the agricultural interests of the country would 
be inestimable. Contiguous to and directly north of the military sta- 
tion, and in the immediate vicinity of the new court-house of Alex- 
andria County, is a tract of ground that would furnish a magnificent 



14 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY PROPOSITION. 

site for a residence for the President of tlie United States. This should 
be included in the Government's lioldiugs, making- about 2 square miles, 
or a little more, altogether. Another square mile, at the very least, 
should be dedicated to the proper uses of the university. The parks, 
avenues, streets, and the like should become the property of the city, 
and the building lots and all other ground should be held in trust for 
the joint benefit of the university and city, the income derived there- 
from to be divided between the two in Just proportions, to be determined 
by competent authority. 

Undoubtedly the best results from a financial point of view would, 
in the long run, be secured through a system of leases. A considera- 
tion of great moment is that, by retaining the fee simple and granting 
leases for specific uses, for definite terms, and with explicit conditions, 
the university and city authorities would be able to maintain a more 
effective control over the sanitary and moral conditions within the 
direct environment of the university than would be possible under the 
ordinary system of land tenure — that is, under private ownership. 
Moreover, private ownership would not only injuriously affect the main 
scheme, but would defeat its own ends, as, according to tradition, it did 
on Capitol Hill, in Washington. 

Sixth. Provision should be made for anticipating a part of the reve- 
nue to be derived from the lands so held in trust. Bonds should be 
authorized and the proceeds thereof expended on behalf of the city in 
making necessary surveys, in grading and paving streets, in construct- 
ing sewers, in erecting waterworks, in i)lanting trees, and in i^roviding 
other municipal necessities and conveniences; and on behalf of the uni- 
versity in erecting buildings, in famishing laboratory apparatus, in the 
purchase of books, and in the immediate inauguration of university work 
on an extensive scale. These bonds should be issued with the guar- 
anty of the National Treasury. The Government would run no risk 
whatever, and its guaranty upon the bonds would insure a ready sale 
at the most advantageous rates. The nation lent its credit in this man- 
ner to the Pacific railroads, commercial enterprises, pure and simple; 
and that action, though adversely criticised when taken, has been justi- 
fied by the results. The university project commends itself to public 
favor because it is in very truth a public measure, not in any sense a 
private venture. 

Seventh. The agencies and instrumentalities required for the inau- 
guration of this great work and for the accomplishment of the great 
ends here sought should be provided by legislative action. A commis- 
sion embracing in its membership men eminent in civic science, in 
mechanical and sanitary engineering, in landscape gardening, in archi- 
tecture, and in business aif'airs should be intrusted with the duty of 
preparing and reporting a plan or plans for laying out, founding, 
organizing, and governing a city sucli as would best subserve the pur- 
poses of a home and seat for our great university. Another com- 
mission composed of men eminent for ripe scholarship, for practical 
experience as educators, for expert knowledge of modern university 
methods and control, and for stalwart Americanism should be charged 
with the preparation of plans for the organization and management of 
the most magnificent educational establishment ever founded on earth. 

It would be presumptuous in a layman to offer suggestions relative to 
matters of university organization and management. Such matters 
may be safely left in the hands of members of the educational profession. 
It nuiy not be amiss, however, to here restate the general principle 
whicl/ought to be incorporated into the methods of our great university. 



NATIONAL UNIVERSITY PROPOSITION. 15 

Comprehensiveness or breadth ought to be the rule everywhere and the 
most conspicuous feature of the institution in all its phases. It must 
be, in very truth, national in its character; it must be the people's uni- 
versity. It must be so conducted that the whole people will be benefited. 
There must be notliing in it or about it smacking of exclusiveness. It 
must be wide o])en on all sides and it must be many-sided. All the 
various elective methods of performing legitimate educational work 
must be employed. 

Thus the vast benefits flowing from our great central institution of 
learning will be carried directly to the very homes and hearthstones of 
our people. And not to our people only, but to the wide world also. 
We could not, if we would, keep all the good to ourselves. We would 
not, if we could, keep our angels at home. They must go forth to carry 
light and hope to humanity everywhere, but when they go out it will be 
in order "that archangels may come in," 

If it be even approximately, or in any sense, true that "an institution 
is the lengthened shadow of one man;" that "all history resolves itself 
very easily into the biograj)hy of a few stout and earnest persons," 
then it is easy to pick out the names that stand forth most prominently 
as representing the principles upon which this nation was founded and 
upon which our great university must be established. There are two 
names so woven into the history, not only of this Republic but into the 
entire history of human eftbrts to achieve independence, that every lip 
is ready at all times to x)i'onouuce them. Wheresoever upon the face 
of this globe men dare to speak of liberty; wheresoever they venture 
to breathe, even in whispers, the aspirations of their souls for a life 
free from the exactions of the oppressor, there those two names are 
spoken with profoundest reverence. Those nRmes, associated together, 
convey a deeper and grander significance to the human race than any 
other two names in history. The most api^ropriate name for our capital 
city, the political metropolis of the nation he founded, was the name 
of Washington. The most appropriate name for our beautiful univer- 
sity city, the educational metropolis of the nation he made permanent 
and everlasting, will be the name of Lincoln. And the most appropri- 
ate, significant, impressive title that can be chosen for our great insti- 
tution of learning is this: 

THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINaTON AND LINCOLN, 
Or this : 

WASHING-TON AND LINCOLN MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY. 

The title "National University" has been adopted by a private 
establishment, and the name "American University" has been appro- 
priated by a sectarian institution. It has been suggested that the 
great university to be established and maintained under national 
auspices might properly be called "The University of the United 
States." There is great similarity in these several titles, and there is 
a possibility of confusion in the minds of persons who have not care- 
fully noted the distinctions. The last-mentioned title would be well 
enough perhaps were it not that the others, almost identical with it in 
meaning, have already been applied to existing or projected institutions. 

But there is another aspect of the question of name or title which 
ought to be carefully considered. It is this: The history of the United 
States has not all been written; it has not all been made. We all earn- 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



16 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY PROPOSITION A AOQ J7Q CCH Q 

estly hope that the future history of this nation will be more glorious 
than its past history. This is, however, only a hope. The life of 
Washington and the life of Lincoln have been written in full, and the 
future contains no possible blot upon their names. There may come a 
time when designing men or unfriendly nations may bring disgrace or 
dishonor upon the name of the Republic of the United States. We 
hope that day may never come. We know that the names of Wash- 
ington and Lincoln are forever safe from opprobrium of any kind. 
The future has for these names only increasing luster and greater glory. 

The foregoing thoughts are respectfully submitted in the hope that, 
notwithstanding the infelicity of their expression, they may be found 
worthy of consideration. 

W. 0. Pennwitt. 

Glencarlyn, Va., February 22^ 1899. 



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